UN Secretary-General rebuffs Ethiopia's demand for senior UN officials to leave the country

The United Nations has rebuffed Ethiopia's decision to expel seven senior UN officials as the country's war-torn northern Tigray region descends into famine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday.

Ethiopia declared the officials, who are responsible for coordinating critical humanitarian assistance, "persona non grata" on Thursday, just days after the UN's aid chief warned that hundreds of thousands of people were starving due to the government's blockade of aid deliveries.

Guterres told the President of the UN Security Council on Friday -- in a letter seen by CNN -- that the UN would push Ethiopia "to permit these critical UN staff to resume their functions in Ethiopia and grant them the necessary visas."